One Direction: Who We Are: Our Official Autobiography

We all know that we wouldn’t be here without the fans, like Niall says. They massively paved the way for us with all the hard work they did on Twitter. I honestly think the big marketing companies need to be looking at some of these people who have Twitter accounts and are so driven and expert. They could employ some of them. This is something they love to do every day. They sit there and make it happen, so someone should tap into that passion and that expertise and get them into an office. They’d be amazing, plus they’d get a buzz off it.

I still think the best way forward isn’t to analyse too much what has happened, but just keep enjoying each moment. So I personally try to stay away from thinking too deeply about things

I know I’ve said I don’t over-think things and just try to enjoy the moment, but on occasion I know I can be very self-critical. Not to such an extent that it eats me up, but I can criticise myself quite readily. That implies a level of self-analysis, of reflecting on events and how well or badly I’ve done.

Our social media following was big by this point, but this didn’t necessarily guarantee anything

I always try not to think too much about things. I don’t see the point in over-analysing situations.

but I also have to acknowledge the role of social media in what went on. There’s no doubt that without that our career would be nowhere near where it is now. Social media gave us a massive head start.

If you want something badly enough, you’ll find the time and the means.

I’ve heard it said that the best bands are gangs, and I really believe that. We’re a gang and, whatever happens in the future, we’ll always be a gang. Even if in 50 years’ time, if one of us is doing a project without the others, I’d like to be there to support them.

It’s a mad thing to go through, and at times the only thing that keeps you sane is the fact you have four other lads doing the same thing, experiencing the same feelings and events with you. I’m really lucky in that sense.

Once our fans started discussing us on social media, the scale of the thing blew up massive. That’s a major reason why we took off so quickly, perhaps in a way that no other band had ever done before (not necessarily in terms of scale but in terms of how it happened). Maybe we were the first band to benefit from the full power of that new platform? I don’t know, I could be reading too much into it. What I do know is that once our fans got onto social media, things were never the same again.